The arrests in relation to the Delhi Excise Policy case began two years ago in 2022, by various agencies, including the CBI and ED. Subsequently, various individuals have been taken into custody for the same, including the Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal. It was only yesterday that another member was apprehended.
Who was arrested?
On April 11, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi(BKS) legislator K. Kavitha was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
She is the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao. Special judge Kaveri Baweja granted CBI permission to question the accused in Tihar jail on Saturday. She is presently lodged in Tihar Jail under judicial custody till April 23, after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested her from her Banjara Hills residence in Hyderabad on a money-laundering charge on March 15. The agency had filed an application in Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on Wednesday.
What was the questioning regarding?
She was questioned in connection with WhatsApp chats recovered from the phone of co-accused Butchibabu Gorantla and documents related to a land deal after which Rs 100 crore was allegedly paid to the AAP in kickbacks to swing the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy (2021-22) in favour of a liquor lobby. Additionally, the CBI also enquired on why she had changed her phone number seven times in a short period. It has been said that she denied the allegations.
Grounds for the arrest
She has been accused of being an active part of a ‘South Group’ (allegedly controlled by Kavitha, YSRCP MP Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy and P Sarath Chandra Reddy of Aurobindo Pharma), which paid ₹100 crores in advance as “kickbacks” to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) media in-charge Vijay Nair, in return for a major share of liquor licences in the national capital Delhi.
It has also been said that it conspired with the top AAP leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the then Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, to get favours in the formulation and implementation of the excise policy.
She has been booked under IPC sections related to criminal conspiracy (120B) and falsification of accounts (477-A) along with Section 7 (offence relating to public servants being bribed) under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
About the Delhi Excise Policy case
The New Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, introduced in November 2021, aimed to revolutionize the liquor retail landscape in the capital. The policy was later revoked by the Delhi government due to irregularities and corruption allegations.
The CBI registered the case on August 17, 2022, and arrested the then Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and fourteen others in the matter. It was alleged that the policy was tweaked to give benefits and extend favours to license holders, and the L-1 (wholesaler) licence was extended without the competent authority’s clearance.
Additionally, the “South Group” partners were given 65% stakes in Indo Spirits company for the recovery of payments. The present WhatsApp chats show that K Kavitha would receive a 33% stake in the abovementioned Spirits company.
CBI will seek her remand from the court on Friday.
